£4.5m county-wide resurfacing programme set to get under way

Cumbria County Council is undertaking a £4,565,000 road improvement investment between Tuesday 7 May and Sunday 14 July as part of a county-wide surface dressing programme.

The works will address surface issues at over 100 individual sites across the county to help keep Cumbria moving.

The breakdown for each district is as follows:

Allerdale – £550,000

Barrow – £175,000

Carlisle – £650,000

Copeland – £840,000

Eden – £975,000

South Lakeland – £1,375,000

Cumbria has 4,908 miles of highways and it is important that we maintain the network with treatments that provide the best value for money. Surface dressing prolongs the life of the surface layer of the road which delays the need for expensive solutions such as full road reconstruction.

Surface dressing extends the life of the road by sealing the surface, thereby preventing the road surface from deteriorating and delaying the development of potholes. It also helps to waterproof the structural layers of the road and improves resistance against the freeze / thaw weather cycle.

Due to the scale of the works, some delays may be inevitable, but teams will make every effort to minimise disruption. Many of the schemes will be completed within one day. The council thanks the public for their understanding and patience while the works are carried out. As with all road works, these will be dependent on suitable weather conditions.

Cllr Keith Little, Cumbria County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, said: “This essential package of road maintenance works will replace worn-out sections of routes across the county with a new, hard-wearing road surface, making journeys much smoother for drivers.

“We recognise the importance of the road network in Cumbria and the resurfacing works will be coordinated to minimise disruption and delays. There may be some disruption during this period and we apologise in advance for any inconvenience. We would ask drivers to plan ahead and allow extra time for journeys.”

You can find out more information on our website at cumbria.gov.uk and we will also be providing regular updates on the weekly resurfacing schedule via social media @CumbriaHighways on Twitter and CumbriaCC on Facebook.